The Circumstances of Life
by Mohoono-chan
Summary: AU when something happens to mikan, her and her only companion must run away from home and go into hideing. who will she seek help from? what will happen to her? find out when you read my fic.bad summmary. currently on a bit of a hiatus...
1. prologue (Natsume)

Yes! i finaly started somethin thats more than a thousand words! not onlt that, but its got chapters. ahaha! i also have no intention of turning this into a oneshot. or anythin like that. well, here you go! oh...its mostly rated T because of some on the lang in this prolog... not too much else. ok. now you can start!

Disclaimer: no, I do not own GA. Impossible. You happy now? Huh?! Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gona go cry in my room now.sniff

**The Circumstances of Life**

_Prolog _

"Hey, check out that chick! She's pretty hot."

_Idiot. We can hear you._

"Then go talk to her. It looks like she's alone."

_No she's not. I'm with her._

When it grabbed her shoulder, she flinched. "Hey, there. You look lost. Need some help? I could show you around if you want." That smile was sickening. I shot a glare at him, a look of disgust on my face.

_How_ _much I would have loved to kill him_.

"N-no. I-I'm fine," she mumbled, not even looking at that guy. It was obvious she was terrified.

_Goddanm freak. Let go of her. She doesn't want to talk to you._

"Oh come on, I won't bite. Let me take you out," it said in the most disgusting way. She started shaking. Her eyes began to water as she glanced down at me with a pleading look on her face. It was time to intervene.

I grabbed its wrist. It writhed in pain. "Stop touching her." It winced under my gaze. I smirked inwardly.

_Oh how fun it would be to kill this motherfucker. _

"Ok, Ok! God, let go!" I released its wrist, leaving behind quickly bruising skin forming into a purple bracelet. It rubbed my reminder to stay away from _my girl _and quickly stumbled off to its so-called friend that stupidly stood there in awe.

I shot one last glair at the two before carefully taking hold of her hand and lead her away from them. People like that made me want to puke.

"What the hell? Who was that? He almost broke my wrist!"

_I barely touched it._

"Wow. Glad I'm not you, man. That was probably her boyfriend,"

"Then why wasn't he there before, when I first went up to her?"

_I was._

"I duno, man. I duno."

I quickened our pace and moved as far away from it and its friend as it took to block out their annoying voices. When I finally stopped, I turned around to see a crying and wheezing girl behind me.

She began rubbing her face with the sleeve of her shirt and sobbing, "I-I was so scared. Natsume……wh-why is it always like this?"

_Because everything about is amazing. In more ways than one. _

I pulled her against my chest and she immediately started clinging to my shirt with everything she had and crying and shaking even harder than before, "I'm sick of this! I'm sick of being scared all of the time! When can we go back to the way we were before all this happened?! I don't wana be scared anymore!"

_Probably never. I can't tell you that, though. _

"I know, Mikan, I know," it was all I could say without lying to her. I continued to rock her back and forth until she quieted down and stopped shaking. I wiped the tears from her puffy red eyes and took her hand again. "Now, we need to keep moving. We have to be there by nightfall."

_If we don't, I don't want to know what would happen._

She nodded and began to trail behind me. When it looked like she could think clearly again, I released her hand and reverted back to my other form to save energy and continued to walk beside her.

_I just hope nothing goes wrong. _

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well? how was it? let me know, please! and just to warn you, its all in first person, and i change the pov every chapter. if that bothers you, sorry. feel free to ask questions, make sugestions, or complain about something. i hope to have the first ch. up next fri. if its not, i probably forgot so just remind me. thanks fer reading! bye.


	2. Chapter 1 (Hotaru)

this morning i woke up knowing it was thursday. when i went to 2nd period, about a half an hour in, i came to ther realization it was friday. i felt a great freedom i hadnt felt in a very long time. i was happy. then, suddenly, i latter realized it was not friday, but thursday. i felt greatly disapointed. and so, i took it as a sign to post the first ch. of my fic. please enjoy

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Disclaimer: you heard me the first time, didn't you?! Waaaah…..T-T

**The Circumstances of Life**

_Chapter 1_

A loud ringing sound drew me away from my work. I put down my tools and wiped my hands off on my long skirt before turning my attention to the sound.

"Who could be visiting at this hour?"

I walked to the door and unlocked it. I walked out to the yard, an umbrella in hand. As I was crossing, I noticed how over grown and brown everything was now. No wonder I hadn't been getting many visitors recently. They were probably all scared away. My nickname didn't help much, either. I'd have to have Ruka take care of it later. It was pouring outside, too. When I reached the gate, on the other side stood a lone girl with dripping wet hazelnut hair that reached down to her waist and matching eyes that were puffy and swollen. Exhaustion was evident on her face.

"Ruka, prepare some tea. We have a guest," I spoke into my headset to my apprentice.

I lead the girl through the garden to my front door. She stepped inside and I noticed a black cat follow her in. A bad omen.

"I don't allow animals inside."

She turned to me surprised, like she didn't know what I was talking about. I pointed down at the cat.

"Oh. Sorry," the girl scratched the back of her head, looking embarrassed, "Natsume, you can't be a cat anymore."

"I heard her," _Wait. Did that cat just talk?_ My eyes widened slightly as it shifted and a boy, equally as drenched as the girl beside him, stood in front of me; crimson eyes staring at me like he could see right through my soul.

I composed myself and walked past them into the hall, "Ruka! Make that two guests! And get some towels!" I heard a muffled reply to show he heard. I turned toward the guests again, "Now, what may I do for you?"

"We heard the person called The Witch Inventor lived here. Might that be you?" the boy with raven hair asked in a rather cold voice.

I twitched. I rather disliked that name. "Yes, some call me by that name. But please, call me Hotaru," equally as cold. I closed my umbrella and shook it before placing it beside the door, "Ruka! How long does it take to make tea! Hurry up!"

He poked his head out of the doorway to the kitchen down the hall, "The stove broke again! It overheated and started smoking! I had to turn it off and cut the gas before it exploded!"

I sighed. Guess I couldn't put off fixing it anymore, "Fine! I'll get the tea! You get the towels and lead our guests to my study!"

"OK! Hold on! I'll be right there! My idiot apprentice called back before disappearing into the room again. He really was useless sometimes. He couldn't even fix a stove by himself!

"I apologize for the inconvenience. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must go," I turned around and walked swiftly toward the kitchen, slightly aggravated, "Hurry up, Ruka!"

It appeared our guests weren't just any old guests. I had a feeling they were going to end up dragging me into something big. Something out of my control. I sighed inwardly. It looked like I couldn't avoid this job, no matter how much I wanted to.

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well? how was it? i finaly wrote something thats over the thousand word barrier i faild to break during my previous two attempts at a fanfic. thats something to celebrate. yay...anyway, please review. tell me what you think, any errors, things you dont like, things you dont understand. anything, just i'd make me sooooooo happy if you reviewed. i'm aiming for friday post again, so please keep encouraging me and supporting me. thank you for reading.


	3. Chapter 2 (Mikan)

well, here we are. hopefully my story doesnt confuse you. i plan on throwing everythin out into the open eventually, but for now, live with the mystery.

Disclaimer: why must you continue to torment me so? No, its not mine!

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**The Circumstances of Life**

_Chapter 2_

I watched the retreating figure of the girl nicknamed the Witch Inventor. She walked into the same room as the boy from before. I flinched when I heard some loud bangs and yelling. A moment later, the boy with blond hair came stumbling out slightly flushed and panicked, towels in hand.

He quickly walked toward us and handed us each a towel, "I'm sorry for making you wait. My name is Ruka Nogi. I'm Master Imai's apprentice. Nice to meet you," his blue eyes and pale face gave him a somewhat angelic appearance as he smiled at us, "and may I ask your names?"

I smiled back as best I could, "I'm….Mikan," I grabbed Natsume's wet shirt sleeve and tugged on it, "…and this is Natsume. Nice to meet you, too."

He smiled again and nodded, "Now if you'll please follow me," and Ruka began leading us down the impossibly long hallway. There seemed to be thousands of rooms. Most had their doors closed; the ones that didn't were filled with strange mechanisms and contraptions I'd never seen before. Our guide stopped and took hold of the chain with hundreds of keys looped though it that hung on the belt loops of his pants and began flipping through them. When he found the key with the number that matched the golden ones bolted to the dark oak door, he inserted it into the keyhole on the knob before turning it and opening the door.

He room was relatively large, but you'd never be able to tell with all the clutter. Inside the room, the walls were lined with bookshelves made by the same dark wood everything in the house I'd seen so far was made of. Every shelf was filled completely with thick, old books. In front of the single arched window there was a large, heavy desk with a matching chair behind it. Covering the top of the desk as well as most of the floor in the room were books with parked pages or that had been left open for what was most likely research or reference and hand written diagrams and blueprints piled up in high stacks. Across from the desk was a large fireplace and two dark brown leather couches facing each other with a coffee table in between them.

Ruka lead us to the couches and went on to light a fire in the fireplace before sitting down across from Natsume and I. we all remained silent, having nothing to say. I took this time to take in the appearance of the person called Ruka. He had a very pale complexion and an air of sophistication and politeness as he sat there staring into the fire with an absent minded smile and his chin rested in his hand, his legs crossed. He was dressed in a white button up shirt that appeared a couple sizes too big with the collar left open and an unbuttoned vest covering it. The tail of his shirt hung loosely over his knee high pants. It was a strange way to be dressed in this day and age.

He shifted slightly, causing the keys attached to his belt to jingle. Turning towards us he said, "I'm sure it won't be much longer. Please be patient."

The silence settled over us again. I turned toward Natsume. I was beginning to get nervous. He glanced back at me and took my hand. He gave it a squeeze. I let out the breath I didn't realize I was holding. Feeling a bit relived, I went back to taking in my surroundings. The carpet and many of the books were a crimson color. The walls, or what you could see of them, were a lighter red. It gave the room a warm feel.

The door clicked open to reveal the girl with emotionless purple eyes and short, dark hair that called herself Hotaru. She came in wearing the same short sleeved button down blouse made from a thick, vertically stripped pale purple material and a matching puffed out skirt that reached down just bellow her knees. She had thigh high black wool socks and boots that reached mid-shin. An apron covered in assorted pockets, patches, and stains was draped over her shoulders and tied around her waist. _Why did people dress like that? But then again, everything about this house from the old look the house had to the dead, overgrown garden outside managed to match the feel of a witch. How fitting for the girl called the Witch Inventor. _

The Inventor placed down the silver trey she had been carrying and passed us each a china cup filled with a steaming brown liquid that smelled faintly of raspberries. "I apologize for the wait," the girl said as she sat down beside the boy called Ruka and sipped her tea, "Now, may I ask what you came here for?"

"We need your help," Natsume answered. He didn't touch his tea. The china clinked and the fire crackled, "Oh? Well, I figured you wouldn't show up at my home soaking wet and exhausted in the middle of the night simply to talk and visit. Now let me ask again, why are you here?"

"……We need a place to hide," this time I answered. After all, it was my problem. I couldn't keep relying on Natsume. "We heard you'd be the best person to turn to."

The girl seemed to perk up with interest, "Well, I cannot deny that I would be capable of such a thing. But what, may I ask, are you hiding from?"

"Um…..uh- to be honest, I'm not totally sure. All I know is that falling into his hands would be terrible," _ok. So that was a lie. But hey, they didn't need to know that_.

"Yea? Again, why is that?" another question I felt uncomfortable answering.

I took a deep, shaky breath before standing and turning around. I started lifting my damp shirt over my head. Natsume got up and helped me pull it off the rest of the way while I covered my chest. My cheeks started heating up. I hated striping infront of people. It was so embarrassing.

I stood there shaking and hugging myself with my back turned toward the other people occupying the room. I heard a small gasp and the sound of china being placed down on the table a little too hard.

"What….it that?" I heard the boy named Ruka ask. I was beginning to feel even more awkward.

"That's not….." I saw Natsume nod his head out of the corner of my eye, "Oh my God…." Hotaru cleared her throat and continued, "I've seen enough. Put your shirt back on; you're embarrassing Ruka."

I gladly obeyed. Natsume pulled my shirt over my head and I pushed my army through the sleeves. We sat back down and I was confronted with a confused look from Ruka and a very serious, but otherwise emotionless, look from Hotaru, "Very well. I understand. I will help you." This got an even more shocked and confused look from her apprentice. As for me, I felt relieved. I didn't know what I would have done if she hadn't recognized my….problem. "Ruka, take our guests to the guest room. They will be staying with us from now on."

"Uh' o-ok," he answered and stood up. We followed him out of the room and down the hall again. When we reached the room with the number 99 on it, Ruka opened the door and bid us a hurried farewell before sprinted down the hall the way we came .I wondered why.

I turned to Natsume and smiled, "Looks like we can rest for a while. They seemed trustworthy."

"Let's hope so," he said before reverting back to his cat form and hopping onto the bed in the room. That large, expensive looking oak frame bed clad with a crimson colored comforter was, for some reason, the only thing in the room. I found the light switch beside the door and switched it off. I then felt my way to the bed and climbed in. Once I had settled myself under the warm blankets, Natsume curled up beside me and I fell asleep to the rhythmic sound of rain hitting the roof.

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well, let me know what you think. i've been told the story is confusing by the people i know. please frrl free to ask if you dont understand something. and just a warning, i feel like this is a really slow paced story, so please put up with its ability to go nowhere in a whyle. i'll try to speed up the plot, but i cant say it'll help. well, see you next friday!


	4. Chapter 3 (Ruka)

waaaah. my laptop ran out of battery yesterday before i could post this! it was terrible! oh well...well, on with it!

Disclaimer: no…just no.

**The Circumstances of Life**

_Chapter 3_

I ran down the hall as fast as I could. I was missing something. Master Imai never did anything before first getting a ridiculously large sum of money. And what was that strange mark on that girl- Mikan's back? It looked like a painful scar. Something was going on.

I spotted my master just as she was leaving the study with the tray full of china in her hands. I called out to her, but she completely ignored me. I followed her to the kitchen.

"Master. Who were those people? What's going on? Please tell me!" I asked as she placed the trey into an invention of hers that that self washed the dishes.

She turned and stared at me for a moment before walking out of the room. I followed her down the hall. I was out of breath by then. The hall was so long I wondered how everything managed to fit into the house you saw on the outside. T was impossible! Besides…what could she possibly have needed all of this room for/? I'd probably never find out. I was allowed to carry the keys to only a few of the many hundreds of rooms.

Master stopped at a door with no number and took out her master key. I gasped. The room was the Master's personal library. I'd never been there before. When the door opened, it revealed stairs leading up into darkness. Imai held the door open for me and waited for me to walk up. I was surprised because I thought she had been ignoring me. I hesitated before taking a step into the dark stairwell. The door closed not long after I entered the stairwell and I heard a second pair of footsteps behind me. I was now pitch black. I clutched the wall and slowly felt my way up.

As I reached the top, I could see slivers of dim light through the tiny window across the room. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't surprised. It looked like an attic. The wood was old and dusty, giving off a very unfinished look. The walls were lined with bookshelves, like the study, only they were empty. Well, all but one, that is. Master Imai walked up to the single full shelf and pulled out a book with a faded green cover. The title on the bind was _Secrets. _She then slipped a hand into one of her many pockets on her dirty, worn apron that covered hershort petty coat and pulled out a key I'd never seen before. I was silver with a colorless diamond impregnated into the part of the key you hold. She took it and inserted her hand into the space where the book had previously been.

I heard a click and the bookshelf jolted backwards, then slid to the side. An entrance into another room was left in its place. I followed my master into that room. After we were both inside, she pulled a lever hanging from the ceiling. The bookshelf moved back to where it was before. She pulled the lever beside the previous one and blinding lights flashed on.

I gasped. Before my eyes was a huge, brightly lit room. The walls stretched so high that you could barely see the ceiling. The room was spacious and bookshelves that stretched as high as the ceiling were everywhere. There must have been millions of books. What could they have possibly all been about? And why were we even there?

I was pulled out of my awe as I noticed Master Imai climb up latter leaning against one of the bookshelves. She then stepped onto a ledge about a third of the way up and walked across it to a second ladder and walked up that one, too. She reached the second ledge and walked to the ladder again; but this time, she grabbed it and pulled it across to the other side of the shelf before climbing half way up and pulling out one of the old, faded books then made her way down again.

When Imai reached the floor again she made her way to a table that was, in reality, rather large but seemed small and out of place among the oversized shelves of books. Sitting down, she began flipping through the book with one hand and motioning me over with the other hand. I walked over and looked over her at the book. She stopped on a page toward the end of the book and turned it around toward me. She pointed at the book and told me to read it.

_The Circumstances of Life_

_to be like god_

_to hold life in your hand_

_to create it_

_to save it_

_to lose it_

_to crush it_

_to hold the responsibility of life and death_

_to be able to save those you hold dear_

_to have the means and be unable _

_to lose your innocence is to lose the life_

_to lose the life is to lose your love_

_to keep your innocence is to lose your child_

_to love is to lose_

_to hate is to suffer_

_to have is to fear_

_to be like god is to wish you weren't_

_to hold the circumstances of life_

_is to be betrayed by the one you trust_

_to lose your love_

_to lose or to save_

_which will it be?_

_I don't know_

_Will there be life?_

_Or death?_

_I don't know_

_Let us all pray for the future and hope for the best_

_These are the circumstances of life_

_The curse of the holder_

I flipped the book to the cover. It was called _The Prophecies of the Phoenix. _I looked back up at Master, "What are you showing me this for?"

Master sighed as she stood back up and walked over to another bookshelf. "Idiot apprentice," she whispered and climbed up the latter, took out another book, then climbed back down again. She dropped the book called _Curses and Premonitions_ on the desk and flipped through it. Master told me to read yet another page.

I gasped when I saw the page. Geez. Was today National Gasping Day, or what? Anyway, it showed an illustration of what looked like the design on that Mikan girl's back. The mark that looked like someone had carved into her back with a knife. The jagged lines had made me sick to my stomach when I first saw it. What would someone have to go through to get a scar like that? I began to read the print beside the picture eagerly.

_God Syndrome_

_As prophesized by the great Phoenix, this curse allows one to "play with life." In a sense, it allows the one with the "Circumstances of Life" within them to absorb life, change the call structure and NDA makeup of any living organism, and produce life from anything that was previously alive to a certain point. As a side effect of sorts, anyone with this syndrome will lose the ability to reproduce, as proven by the test and research done on this syndrome. No human, to date, has had the syndrome and lived past three days due to the inability to synchronize with this "curse."_

_Research on the God Syndrome has been banned due to the procedures that must be done on the subject in order for the subject to gain the syndrome. This procedure includes placing the symbol shown on your right on the body of the subject and injecting a nearly lethal dose of an artificial gene called the "Angle gene." This gene is more commonly used as a poison. It can warp the cell structure of any living creature it is injected into. The person doesn't first bleed to death from the wounds on their body created when placing the symbol on it, they will mutate into something unable to be considered human any longer and eventually die from either shock or a change in their body. An example of this is a person losing their longs after having the "Angle gene" inserted into their body and suffocating to death. _

The passage went on, but before I could finish reading it, the book was shut in my face. I was slightly confused when I finished, but began to piece together everything in my mind, " You mean…."

"Yes. That girl holds the circumstances of life within her. I don't know how sutch a thing happened, or how it is even possible, but its true. I don't doubt she's being sought after, either. I plan on asking her more about her situation tomorrow," Master then got up and walked toward the two levers again, "We should get going now. There's another long day waiting for us tomorrow." Master then pulled the lever to open the door and turned out the lights. The door closed behind us and Master Imai locked it again before replacing _Secrets. _

We walked down the stairs I silence. After locking the numberless door, we continued down the hall toward our rooms. Mine came up first. I unlocked and opened the door before turning to Master, "The way The Master's library was hidden was amazing. You made it, right? To be able to hide such a huge room; Just what I'd expect from such an amazing master. I'm lucky to be your apprentice."

At first she semed surprised by the complement. She then simply smiled, "You just realized that now? Idiot aprentace," she tipped her head up and lightly kissed me on the cheek, "Good night, Ruka." She then turned and continued on to her room.

I touched my cheek. I was probably blushing. I shut my door and walked to my nightstand. Picking up my clock and set the alarm then fell onto my bed. This is when I noticed it had stopped raining.

I gave a light laugh, "Master Imai will probably work me to the bone again tomorrow. I wonder what she'll make me do…" then I drifted of into a comfortable sleep without even bothering to turn out the lights.

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for some reason, i really like this chapter. duno why tho. its a bit longer then the others, too, i think. well, hope you liked it!


	5. Chapter 4 (Mikan)

heyya! preaty late post time for me...but not that late at the same time... at least i got it up on friday this tim. well, whatever r&r

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Disclaimer: this is a _fan fiction. _Need I say more?

**The Circumstances of Life**

_Chapter 4_

When I awoke the next morning, there was a small, wooden table that hadn't been there the night before. I walked up to it. On the table were two neatly folded piles of clothes with a note placed between them.

_When you're ready, please come to room 39 for breakfast. We have much to discus. And don't forget to change your clothes. I can't stand those dirty rags you're wearing._

_-H. Imai_

I blushed and looked down. I really did look like I was wearing dirty rags. I had on a simple white skirt and a plain, slightly baggy white long-sleeved shirt. Well, at least they used to be white. They had been thoroughly torn and muddied from the previous day's adventures. Natsume's clothes were probably just as bad. I picked up one of the piles on the table and slipped into the pale pink dress that looked similar to the one Hotaru had been wearing the previous day, only it didn't poof out at the bottom. i spun and the dress puffed out around me. I liked it. The dress was really cute.

"Natsume, you should get dressed, too," and the black cat on my bed got up and changed to his human form.

I sat on the bed, turned the other way, as he changed into something similar to what Ruka had on yesterday. The only difference was the vest and pants were black.

We exited the guest room and headed down the hall in search of room 39. the room behind the door 39 had walls made of glass, giving a perfect view of the overgrown, half dead garden full of plants id never seen before. In the center of the room sat Hotaru and Ruka at a long dining room table with probably about 10 chairs lining each side. Hotaru sat on the end, sipping coffee and reading the newspaper. To her right, Ruka was frantically scribbling things down on a sheet of paper while flipping through one of the books from the large stack beside him.

When we entered, Hotaru looked up, "Oh. You're up early. How did you sleep?" she set her cup down and folded her newspaper. Pushing a headset attached to her ear, she began speaking, "Prepare breakfast. Our guests are awake."

I hesitantly went to the table and sat down in one of the chairs. Natsume sat beside me. Not long after, the door swung open and a strange, mechanical-looking thing rolled in with trays of breakfast food carried in its arm-like tubes on each side of its body. After plated were distributed, the robot turned and rolled back out again. It was bizarre.

I looked at Natsume. He was twitching slightly and staring at where the robot thing had previously been intently. I giggled. He probably wanted to chase it. it was so cat like and cute. He glared at me, but I could tell he was just embarrassed.

We all went on and ate. Everything was delicious. It brought back memories of my mother. I wished I could go back to peaceful days times before everything went wrong. When we were all happy.

"So, little girl, tell me. How did you come to acquire the Circumstances of Life?" Hotaru asked. I froze. I didn't want to remember, but I couldn't avoid the question.

My eyes began to sting and I wanted to curl up in a ball. "I was…" and just when I had gathered enough control over myself to answer, the door burst open and my resolve crumbled. I spun around to see who had just come in. in the doorway stood a teen not much older than me in a plain white baggy t-shirt and a pair of basketball shorts scratching his stomach and yawning. He had spiky black hair and a star tattooed on his left cheek.

"Morning…hm?" that's when he noticed Natsume and i. when he saw us, his face brightened up, "New renters?"

"Shut up, you," Hotaru said to the stranger in a cold voice then directed her attention back toward me, "Now, continue. who was it?" Crap. I was hoping she had forgotten. I couldn't answer anymore. It was getting hard for me to hold back the piling up emotions.

I bit my lip. I couldn't hold back the tears anymore. Before anyone could react, I got up and bolted past the person who had ruined my resolve and out the door. I ran down the hall and toward the room Natsume and I had stayed in the previous night. I lie down on the bed and pressed my face to the pillow, allowing my tears to fall freely now.

The memories t had tried to erase, to block out, came back to me in painful detail. That night…and the days leading up to it: they were hell on earth.

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ohh...are we getting somewhere now? and a new chara entroduced! yay! i love tsubasa! ah...but he really did screw things up, huh? now you wont find out what mikan was gona say until next week. oh well. lets all just hope tsubasa doesnt have really bad timin next time, neh? well, see you next time!


	6. Chapter 5 (Tsubasa)

ohmyy god! im an entire week late! noooooooooooooooo! to make up for it, this is a loooong chapter. and im gona try to postch. 6 up tomorrow or over the weekend sometime. if i dont, feel free to nag and complain. in fact, please do!

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Disclaimer: no, it is not mine

**The Circumstances of Life**

_Chapter 5_

"Huh?" what was going on? I was standing in the doorway still, a little dumbstruck. Everyone in the room looked serious. Hotaru and Ruka were staring at me with agitated faces while the other guy just sat there completely silent.

"Good going. Now she ran away without telling us anything," then Hotaru took out her baka gun and aimed it at me, "you've got the worst timing ever." She shot it.

"Ouch!" I got up and rubbed my swollen cheek, "What did I do?"

Hotaru aimed again and was about to fire again when the new guy began speaking in a low voice, "It was," he paused, as if considering what to say anew either or not he should be saying it, "It was…her…stepfather."

After he said that held a horrified and disgusted face while Ruka was just plain old shocked. Ok, now I really wanted to know what was going on. Before I could ask, the new guy got up and exited the room. I watched him walk down the hall, his hands in his pockets.

"Huh. What the hell's going on so early in the morning?" it was sorta freaking me out, "and who were they?" when I first saw them, I had thought they were new renters that moved in, but that was probably impossible. The rent was crazy expensive and no one had moved in for years. Other than Ruka, I was the only one living there, and that was only because was given a really big discount due to my….condition.

"That girl that ran out when you first came in, she's a client. Came here last night asking for help." Well, that explained some of it.

"What'd she need you for?"

"None of your danm business. But I will tell you that she came here for a similar reason you're here." Oh. Wow. That explained a lot. But…not enough to be satisfied.

"What curse?" she glared at me, hinting that I was crossing the line. I took the warning and decided to ask a different question, "So, who was that guy? Another client? Or was he with the girl?"

Good. It looked like Hotaru didn't mind this question, "Her pet…I think. To be honest, I'm not too sure myself; I never bothered asking."

Ruka and I looked at her funny. Ruka spoke up for the first time that morning, "_Pet? _What do you mean _pet?_" Well said, Ruka. Exactly what I was thinking.

"Oh. Right, you didn't know. Lets just say he's also cursed, in a way," _The hell? That didn't explain anything_. I looked at Ruka. He showed milled comprehension, but still looked confused. "Well, no matter. You'll understand soon enough."

"Oh….key?" This was getting harder and harder to follow. I sat down and started eating. The food was cold.

"Tsubasa, mind going to room 54? Greet her properly and apologize for being you," Hotaru was weird….I couldn't help but get the feeling she was plotting something. My suspicions were confirmed when she smirked after I agreed to go. What was she thinking?

I trotted down the plush carpet in bare feet while counting doors. I was still drowsy. It was early in the morning and I was amazed everyone was up and far more awake than I was. Reaching the door with the number 54 on it, I knocked.

"Come in," was the muffled reply of a girl. I opened the door. Inside the room sat a lone bed. Hotaru could be a cheapskate sometimes. On the bed sat the brunet I had seen earlier with a black cat in her arms. Her eyes were puffy and red, from crying probably, and she looked really worn down. The cat looked like it was in heaven as it clung to the girl's chest, clawing at her clothes and purring to show his pleasure as the girl stroked its silky black coat and scratched behind its ears.

Wait. Didn't Hotaru have a rule against animals in the house? I remembered that one time Ruka brought an injured rabbit home and wanted to keep it. Hotaru let him treat it, but afterwards literally kicked it out of the house and said if he wanted to keep it, he had to keep it outside. Why would she let that girl keep her cat?…oh! Could this be what she meant when she said id find out soon…? And the pet thing….so that means….HA! that guy from before was a cat!

I burst out laughing, leaving the girl to look surprised and startled and the cat to glare at me. After my laughing fit that involved pounding the ground with my fist and rolling all over the floor, I realized I was being stupid and embarrassing myself. I got up and made myself stop snickering.

"Sorry about that. I was just remembering something funny that happened yesterday_," nice. Now they know you were laughing at them._ I changed the subject by jabbing myself in the chest with my thumb and saying, "Hey, I'm Tsubasa. Nice to meet you. I live here; 'renting out the room down the hall. Of course, everything's down the hall, now that I think about it. Isn't the layout of this place weird? Just one really long hall. But seriously, how does the hall fit into the house? I've tried to find out, but was never bale to find the answer. I guess that's just Hotaru for you. HAHAHAHAHAhahaha…," _great. Now I was rambling._ The cat glared at me again and I felt a little uneasy.

The girl looked bewildered, "I'm…Mikan. Nice to meet you, too," Mikan, huh? That was a nice name, I guess. I started relaxing.

"Well, I just came by to tell you hi and welcome you to the Imai household. Like I said I'm just down the hall if you need anything. Room 60 to be exact," that's better, "Actually, you're probably the first person to move in here since I came along. Rent's so expensive it could make you cry. It's pretty exciting to get a neighbor." _Ah….you're talking too much again._

"Yea?" she smiled slightly, "I guess it is. My old house was pretty big, and I didn't go out much, so I never really met my neighbors," _oh…did I hit a soft spot? Careful, Tsubasa. Don't wana hit too many buttons. You know what happened last time you did that…_

Of course, my curiosity got the better of me. Let's just hope it wouldn't kill the cat…..god, that was a bad joke. Terrible taste, "So…..I hear you're cursed. What d'you have?"

Her smile faltered. The cat looked pissed. Crap. I should have kept my mouth shut. Most people have a hard time talking about their curse. I should have known. It was time to patch it up. I laughed awkwardly, "You don't have to tell me, I understand! Sorry that question made you uncomfortable. Eheheheh. Actually, I'm cursed, too."

"You…you're cursed?!"

"Yup! A former friend cursed me cuz I tried to steal his girlfriend. Don't regret it, though. Managed to get them apart, and the girl and I are good friends now." Hopefully this would distract her; otherwise I was out of ideas.

"Heheheh. What kind of curse? It must be pretty bad," she stopped as if realizing a mistake, "Sorry, I shouldn't ask without being willing to tell you about mine…"

"Nah, its ok. I'm sure talking about your 'problem' brings back painful memories. I, personally, don't mind talking about my curse. It's pretty pathetic, really. It's called Demon Syndrome."

"What does it do?" she was probably overestimating the curse. That or I was underestimating it. The later was more likely. I sat down at the edge of Mikan's bed. Standing was starting to get uncomfortable.

I grinned. She would probably get a kick out of this, "I have sensitive skin."

She blinked, "What?"

"Well, to put it more accurately, my body is sensitive to temperature. I can't handle extreme temperature, and almost all temperature is extreme to me. You could also see it as like being cold blooded and relying on outside sources for heat, though it's a little different. But I can't be in the sun for long periods of time or in an air conditioned building. I've been forced to wear winter clothing in the summer and shorts in the winter before. This place is pretty evenly heated, though, so I don't have to worry much here." Coarse, I _forgot _to mention the fact that the tattoo on my back in the shape of two bat wings and a tail ate away at my life, slowly killing me. Nope. After all, the seal on my cheek took care of that problem a long time ago.

"That's it? Why would he give you that kind of curse?" _Cuz he wanted to kill me without it being traced back to him. _But, she didn't need to know that. Or the fact that the curse was worse than it sounded. After I got the curse, I spent a year in the hospital with a high fever. It wasn't until I met Imai that I could finally leave the hospital. I couldn't enjoy doing some of the things I loved to do the most, either. Like swimming or gym. I was also held back in school a year. It kinda sucked.

"How should I know? Maybe he decided on this curse when he read the name, thinking it was perfect, and never bothered reading the description." This brought a giggle out of Mikan. I checked my time piece. "Ah. It's about time I get ready for school. Sorry, gota go. Let's continue our conversation later, k? Bye!"

"Yea," she looked a bit disappointed, but what could I do? I couldn't afford anymore tardies or unexcused absences and it'd take forever for me to get ready. Don't ask why.

As I was exiting the room, I remembered something. I turned and popped my head back into the room, "Oh yea, and sorry for being me." And so, I left Mikan's room and continued to my own, rather happy to make a new friend. Of course, that cat boy probably wasn't so happy about it. I laughed.

"oh yea, I forgot to ask for his name."

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well? how was it? what yo nk? please letme know!


	7. Chapter 6 (Hotaru)

...this chapter is pathetic. and im pathetic. and lazy. o ahead, hate me. im a liar, too

Disclaimer: um…..this is a _disclaimer_

**The Circumstances of Life**

_Chapter 6_

"I'm skipping school today. Tell the teacher." I had better things to do.

"Um, ok. You sure I shouldn't stay behind, too?" my idiot apprentice asked.

"Yes, I'm sure. You'd just get in the way." It was the truth. There was no need for him to be there.

"Well, bye then," he said hesitantly before slipping on his shoes and exiting out the front door.

I waved. "Be careful." He nodded and waved back. I swear, if he got another detention for sleeping in class, I'd shoot him.

I continued to stand by the door, waiting for the other idiot to leave. When I finally spotted him, it was obvious he was going to be late again. I shot him with my baka gun. Why were the people in this house so useless?

"Did you do what I asked?" I asked.

He sat up and rubbed his cheek. "Yeah, I did. She seems like a nice person. From the looks of it, she hasn't had much human contact."

"Huh. Well, hurry up. If you're late, I'll make you clean the bathrooms." His face paled. I smirked. The idiot ran out the door in a mad dash. I waved him off. Looked like my bathrooms were going to be clean and germ-free by the end of the day.

"Now then." I turned on my heel and headed down the hall toward my other two guests. Today was going to be a busy day.

--

well, thats it. its way too short. its the one i meant to post last weekend but didnt. ill try to post anouther tomorrow. but dont cound on it.


	8. Chapter 7 (Mikan)

yay! i got ch 7 up!! im so happy!! im so glad my sister typed this

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Disclaimer:um…..no.

**The Cercomstances of Life**

_Chapter 7_

"…I don't like him," Natsume said with a serious expression as he sat up and changed back into his human form.

I giggled. "Is that jealousy I hear?"

He glared at me. So he was jealous. That was a happy thought. "Aww…don't worry. He'll never replace you," I said.

"Hn." He hugged back. Yay.

The door opened to reveal the owner of the house. We all stood there frozen for a moment. Then, without warning, Hotaru swiped out a camera and snapped a picture. We all stood there for a moment again.

Hotaru placed the camera back into one of her pockets again. "Now then, enough fun. We have things to do. If you'll please follow me." She turned around and walked out. I stumbled after her, Natsume close behind. Surprisingly, we only walked past a couple doors before she stopped. The door wasn't locked. Another surprise. What was in that place?

It didn't take long before my question was answered. Inside the room, there were rows and rows of clothes. Across from where we were, there was another door.

Hotaru grabbed my wrist and pulled me toward the other door. "You. Stay here. We'll be right back," she said to Natsume. He stood there and stared as the door shut behind us. In this other room was a huge bathtub. "Take a bath while I get things ready. You're really dirty." I blushed. It was true. I hadn't bathed in days. I stripped down and slid into the warm bathwater. It was really relaxing.

"Dunk your head. I want to wash your hair." I turned toward Hotaru. She had changed into a pair of shorts and a spaghetti strap shirt. I did as I was told, wetting my hair. As soon as I came back up, a pair of hands began rubbing shampoo into my scalp. It was somewhat soothing. "So…what was life like where you were before this?"

"Um…peaceful, I guess. Not much happened. I was never allowed to leave the house," I said drowsily. A stream of hot water hit the back of my head, rinsing out the shampoo.

"Here." Hotaru gave me a bar of soap. I rubbed my body down, cleaning it.

"Thank you for letting me take a bath," I said. It made me feel a lot better. "Are you going to give Natsume one, too?"

"He can lick himself."

I laughed. Well, he was a cat, I guess. "Now, out." She handed me a towel. I expected to change back into what I had on before and go back to Natsume, but instead I was handed a thin white polka dot summer dress and lead to a chair. I sat down.

Hotaru rubbed my hair with a towel until it was only damp and then placed the towel around my neck. "What are you doing?" I asked when I saw the other girl open a small box and mix together some liquids from inside the box.

"Dying your hair. It'll make things more convenient." Huh. Well, I'd have to trust her, I supposed. She knew what she was doing, right?

After a while of dye being rubbed into my hair and waiting for it to set, my hair was washed again with a different shampoo that conditioned this time. Hotaru combed and blow-dried my hair, then used a straightening iron on my slight curls. She then placed colored contacts over my eyes.

After Hotaru was finished, she lead me over to a large mirror so I could look at myself. I gasped. Was that really me? I looked like a different person. My hair was now a silky smooth black, any curl gone and my eyes were matching pools of the same color. I twirled. It was amazing.

"You're amazing, Hotaru! It's like magic! Thank you!" I hugged her.

She pushed me off saying, "Don't touch me."

"Heheh. Sorry." I rubbed the back of my head.

"Now it's time to work on your friend. Come."

She opened the door and we went back to where Natsume was. He seemed surprised when he first saw me, but quickly hid it.

His transformation wasn't much of a transformation. He also received black contacts and had a pair of black-rimmed glasses placed over them. Afterwards, Natsume and I were both handed new clothing. I changed into the navy blue pleated skirt and matching suit jacket. Under the jacket, I had a white blouse and tied a red ribbon around my neck. Natsume's outfit was the same as mine, only with dress pants instead of a skirt and a tie instead of a ribbon.

There was a flash. There was another flash. Natsume and I turned toward the origin of the two flashes. There was Hotaru, standing with the same camera she had taken the picture earlier with in her hands.

She then pushed a button by the door. Right afterward a robot similar to the one from breakfast came in. Hotaru handed the camera to the robot. "You know what to do." It then turned and exited the room. "Now then," Hotaru turned toward us, "how about lunch?"

My stomach growled. "I'll take that as a yes."

We went to the room we had breakfast in. I hadn't realized it was already that late.

Toward the end of lunch, the robot Hotaru had given the camera to earlier came in with two envelopes. She took one of the envelopes and put it in her pocket and handed the other one to us. Inside it there were two cards.

"What are these?"

"What do you think they are? They're student ID's."

I flipped them over to reveal a card with Natsume's face on it and one with mine. I handed Natsume his and quickly scanned over mine. "Um… my name is wrong on this…as well as the rest of the information."

Hotaru took a sip of iced tea. "No, it's not. If you go to school without a fake name, you'll be easy to find."

"Oh…" I suddenly felt really slow. "So, where will we be going?"

"Starting tomorrow, you will be attending Alice Academy under the false name Aoi Hyuuga. There's a file on the bed in the room you stayed in last night. Read it and memorize as much of it as you can. Good luck."

"Ah. Um, thank you." I got up and went off to read the file.

The file didn't have too much in it. It was mostly the background and important facts regarding mine and Natsume's false lives. For example, Nastume and I were twins; Natsume was born first, and our parents died in a fire when we were eight. Our biography went on for pages. When I finished reading it, I handed it to Natsume and went off to wander the hall.

I hadn't seen Tsubasa or Ruka around so I assumed they were still at school until I heard Hotaru announce dinnertime over an intercom. I wondered where they were, but decided not to ask Hotaru because she didn't seem to be in a good mood.

When the two finally did come back, I discovered they had both gotten detention. "Idiots. I warned you guys not to do this," Hotaru said after shooting them both with what I discovered was called her "baka gun" during lunch talk earlier.

She handed Tsubasa a box of cleaning devices and Ruka a list of some kind. "Hurry up and get to work. You don't have much time left in the day."

I decided to go to my room and reread the file again before Natsume and I changed into something more sleep appropriate and snuggled into bed. Tomorrow would probably be a long day.

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well? how was it? please let me know. itd make me ever so happy. well, bai-bai! see you later!


	9. Chapter 8 (Ruka)

this chapter...well, what can i say? natsume and mikan go to school. but, you dont really see much of them. sorry for that. and sorry for the late post. its been writen for a while, i just havent had the time to type it latley. well, on with chapter 8.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Gakuen Alice.

**The Circumstances of Life**

_Chapter 8_

When I woke up that morning, my body ached with muscle pain. I had barely gotten any sleep the night before. I was too busy working on organizing the storage rooms for Master Imai's inventions to even use the bathroom. It's no wonder I doze in class all the time.

As usual, during breakfast I studied to books on nanotechnology Master had given me so that I could assist her in her invention process. It could be bothersome at times, but also rather rewarding in its own way. That was why I was there, after all. I looked up when the door squeaked open. In walked a boy and girl wearing the Academy uniform. The guy had abandoned his jacket, rolled up his sleeves, lose tie, a couple unbuttoned buttons, thick-rimed glasses, and black hair and eyes. The girl had the same black eyes and hair, a neat and correctly worn uniform, and thigh high, thick, black socks. I recognized them as the people called Natsume and Mikan. Of course, they probably had false names as well, knowing Master. After all, they were in hiding. At least…I think they were. Ok, ok. Now I was getting distracted. I turned back to my books.

Not long after the two new residents sat down, Tsubasa came in with his usual hat, lose tie, and unbuttoned jacket, looking sore and uncomfortable. He was probably up all night, too. You could also throw in the fact that it was a pretty cool night. Even if he did manage to get to sleep, it probably wasn't very enjoyably.

After breakfast, I was first out the door. I headed over to the cage with my rabbit in it. After opening the cage and feeding my rabbit, I lifted it up into my arms. They didn't allow pets in school, but for some reason they didn't mind me taking my rabbit. Weird, huh? It was probably Master Imai. Of coarse, why she would do it was beyond me.

Cradling my rabbit with one arm, I hoisted my backpack over my shoulder with the other. After biding my quick farewells, I walked to school. I wasn't very far, and I would be there early. I wanted to study for the history test I was having that day. Seeing as how I'd been asleep the last few classes, it was a miracle I even knew one was coming. I had Master Imai to thank for that.

After reaching my classroom, I engrossed myself in my studies until the homeroom teacher came into the room, calling for everyone's attention. There were quiet, excited murmurs when he told the class we had two new students that day.

"Let me introduce to you Natsume and Yukiaoi Hyuuga," the teacher announced as Natsume and Mikan entered the room. Mikan looked flustered and embarrassed while Natsume appeared cool and collected, "They transferred her due to family problems. Please take care of them."

The two were ushered to two empty seats toward the back of the classroom. The whispers increased as they walked past the rows of desks to their places. There were a couple squeals from the girls in our class that seemed to annoy Natsume and bother Mikan. She grabbed his hand and squeezed.

After they sat down, I noticed a neatly folded piece of pastel paper on the notes I had been revising. It had my name on it in neat, even cursive scribbled over the side facing me. My rabbit began to nibble at the corner. I pulled the note out of its mouth and unfolded it.

_We need to talk. Meet me on the roof during lunch._

_-H. Imai_

Glancing behind me, my eyes met the deep magenta orbs of my master. I wondered what was so important that it couldn't wait until after school. She usually ignored me during the day. Her eyes narrowed and threw a crumpled paper ball at my head; I flattened it out and discovered three words in the same slanted writing as the last note.

_Stop staring, baka._

I blinked before blushing furiously before crumpling the note back up, shoving it into my pocket. When had she written that?

After failing miserably on the History quiz and successfully dozing off during math only to be brutally woken up during science two periods later, therefore receiving yet another detention, it was lunch time. I fed my rabbit and went down to the cafeteria. I bought a sandwich for myself and headed up to the roof. The door was usually locked with a sign that read '_Students prohibited'_ on it. The door was unlocked, so I clicked it open and stepped out onto the gravel covering the floor of the roof.

As soon as I was through the door, something collided with the side of my face. Hard. I fell on the ground and slid across the gravel a little, "You fell asleep again. Now I'm going to have to stay up and wait for you before I can work. I hope you know you'll be cleaning all night again."

"Sorry," I apologized as I rubbed my sore cheek. It's not like she ever waited for me to get there before she started working, anyway. Why was she so upset? I wanted to point it out, but its best not to anger Master. She has pictures of me that make me wonder why I gave her the chance to take them in the first place, "So, what did you wish to see me about?"

Master sighed placed the contraption she used to hit me back in her bag and pulled out a brown paper envelope instead. She loved using those things. My master handed it to me and said, "I figured you might find this interesting."

I opened the envelope and glanced at the content. Inside was a thick stack of papers. I'd look over them during class, "I noticed you got a letter from The Master," I looked up and she stiffened, "Is he coming home soon?"

"Yes," Master looked away, her cheeks slightly pink. She must have been really happy to receive the letter. No wonder she'd been using cleaning as a punishment lately.

I placed the paper envelope down beside me on the hard, uneven ground. My pet rabbit jumped on it, "When is he arriving?"

"Tomorrow."

"What?!" I could just tell I'd be worked to the bone all night to prepare for his arrival; Tsubasa, too, probably.

"Now hurry up and eat already. Lunch is almost over," Master then spun on her heal and walked down the steps back to the classroom.

I glanced at my watch. Crap. There was only a minute left before lunch ended. Why were lunch breaks so short here?! I jammed my sandwich into my mouth as I dashed down the stairs back to the classroom.

When I got there, I saw Master already sitting at her desk, not showing any sign of having rushed. In fact, she was involved in a deep conversation with Anna and Nonoko, toe two students besides Master that had privilege to the Science Department. The 'Department was one of the most high-tech and well researched facilities for experimentation in the country; only the top scientists were allowed in. It was a great privilege and honor to be allowed to use it.

I made my way to my seat and placed my rabbit down along with the envelope Master gave me on my desk. I stared at it for a while and opened it after the second bell rang and class began.

As the teacher droned on about something unimportant, I glanced over the handwritten note paper clipped to the front of the stack of paper.

_I researched on the matter regarding our guests and found something interesting. I thought you'd like to know. I also managed to pry some information regarding what happened to the girl this morning from the cat. I recorded it and typed it up for you and Tsubasa. Please don't scream too loud when you read this. _

_-H. Imai_

How'd she manage to type all this in one morning? She really was amazing. I pulled the note away and slipped it back into the envelope. On the top page of the stack, Natsume's, or at least I presume its his, story began.

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well, how was it? review, please. and im going to japan later this week, i wont be posting for at least two weeks. dont expect anything before the 23rd of this month. thank you!


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